The Joint Military Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces said that the army and its allies have liberated 165 regions from the control of the ISIL terrorists since the start of the military operation to retake the militant-held city of Mosul.

“Since the start of the military campaign to liberate Mosul, a number of 165 regions, villages, districts, neighborhoods, and government facilities in northern, southern, western and eastern Mosul have been retaken from the terrorists’ control,” Iraq’s Joint Military Command said in a statement on Saturday.

The commander of the Iraqi ground forces, Riad Jalal Tawfiq, also noted in remarks published on Saturday that the army forces are preparing for an impending offensive on Mosul’s al-Qahira district, which is one the main northern districts on the eastern bank of the ISIL stronghold city.

Meanwhile, reports said Iraqi security forces entered the central districts of the key town of Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul and hoisted the Iraqi flags on the government building in the last ISIL stronghold in southern Mosul.

The Iraqi police and army’s armored units have begun the operation to win back Hamam al-Alil on three fronts since Thursday, and have liberated many villages as they advanced toward the town.